christianity from the reproaches or witticisms of the heathens, and to maintain the benevolence of the one God against the objections of the Gnostics. Sometimes, again, he states and defines it, in a formal and labored manner; but in most cases he introduces it incidentally, either as the natural result of some well-known christian principle, or as the positive doctrine of particular scriptures".

▾ I subjoin the principal texts that he adduced in favor of Universalism. Those from the Old Testament are translated according to the Septuagint version, which Origen, like all the ancient fathers, followed.

Ps. xxxi. 19. How great is the multitude of thy favors, Lord, which thou hast laid up in secret for those who shall fear thee!Ps. lxxviii. 30-35. Even while their meat was yet in their mouth the anger of God came up against them, and slew them in their fatness, and crippled the chosen ones of Israel. In all this they still sinned, and believed not his wondrous works: therefore their days passed away in vanity, and their years, with speed. But when he had slain them, then they sought him, and returned, and came quickly to God; and they remembered that God was their helper, and that God the Most High was their redeemer-Ps. cx. 1,2. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Out of Zion the Lord will send thee a rod of power; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. -Isa. iv. 4. For the Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and of the daughters of Zion, and cleanse the blood from the midst of them by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.Isa. xii. 1,2. And in that day thou wilt say, I bless thee, O Lord; for though thou wast angry with me, thou hast turned away thy fury and pitied me. Behold, God is my saviour; I will trust in him and not be afraid; because the Lord is my glory and my praise, and hath saved me.-Isa. xxiv. And the Lord shall bring his hand upon the host of heaven, even upon the kings of this land; and they shall gather the congregation thereof to the prison, and shall shut them up in the strong hold. Their visitation shall be for many generations. But the brick shall melt, and the wall shall fall; because the Lord shall reign from Zion and from Jerusalem, and be glorified in the presence of the elders.-Isa. xlvii. 14. Behold, they shall all be burned in the fire, as stubble, and they shall not deliver their soul from the flame. Thou hast coals of fire; sit upon them; they will be a help to thee-Ezek. xvi. 53–55. And I will restore their apostacies, even the apostacy of Sodom and of her daughters; and I will restore the apostacy of Samaria and of her

In two places, however, he represents the Salvation of All Men as one of the christian mysteries, which should not be too freely divulged. But we must add, that in this, he only followed a rule which the ortho

daughters; and I will restore thine apostacy in the midst of them, that thou mayest bear thy punishment, and be put to shame for all thou hast done to provoke me to anger. And thy sister Sodom and her daughters shall be restored as at the beginning; and thou and thy daughters shall be restored to your former state.-Hosea xiv, 3,4. We will no more say to the work of our own hands, Ye are our Gods.. He who is in thee shall have mercy on the fatherless. I will heal their habitations; I will love them openly; for he hath turned away my wrath from himself.-Micah vii. 8,9. Exult not over me, O mine enemy; though I have fallen, I shall rise, though I should sit in darkness, the Lord will give me light. I will sustain the anger of the Lord, until he justify my cause, for I have sinned against him. He will do me justice, and bring me into light, and I shall behold his righteousness.-Malachi iii. 2,3. Who shall abide the day of his coming? or who shall be able to endure his appearance? For he cometh as the fire of a refiner's furnace, and as the soap of the fullers. He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and of gold; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and melt them as gold and silver. Then shall they present to the Lord an offering in righteousness.-Matt. v. 26. Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.-Matt. xviii. 12, 13. [Parable of the Lost Sheep.]-John x. 16. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd-Rom viii. 20-23. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now; and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.-Rom. xi. 25, 26. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits) that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved.-Verse 32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.-1 Cor. iii. 13-15. Every man's work shall be made manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.-1 Cor. xv.

dox of his age observed with regard to several points in their common faith; as they used much caution in avowing some of their tenets, particularly concerning Antichrist and the near approach of the end of the world. Even the form of their creed, and the rites of the Lord's supper, were concealed, under the name of mysteries, from the uninitiatedw. Somewhat in such a light, Origen appears to have supposed, the doctrine of Universalism ought to be regarded: Commenting on that text in Romans (xi. 26, 27.) where St. Paul denominates the salvation of all Israel, and of the Gentile world, a mystery, he takes particular notice of this

24-28. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. Death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed. For He hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.-Verse 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.-Eph. i. 9, 10. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him.-Eph. ii. 7. That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus.-Eph. iv. 13. Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.-1 Tim. iv. 10. For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe-1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. By which, also, he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, &c.-1 John ii. 1, 2. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

w Mosheim. de Reb. Christian, ante Constant. pp. 304, 305.

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term, and then says, "the word of the gospel in the "present life, purifies the saints, whether Israelites or "Gentiles, according to that expression of our Lord, "now ye are clean through the word I have spoken “unto you. (John xv. 3.) But he who shall have spurned the cleansing which is effected by the Gos"pel of God, will reserve himself for a dreadful and "penal course of purification; for the fire of hell shall, "by its torments, purify him whom neither the apos"tolic doctrine nor the evangelical word has cleansed : "as it is written, I will thoroughly purify you with "fire. (Isa. i. 25.) But how long, or for how many 66 ages, sinners shall be tormented in this course of pu"rification which is effected by the pain of fire, he

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only knows to whom the Father hath committed all "judgment, and who so loved his creatures that for "them he laid aside the form of God, took the form "of a servant, and humbled himself unto death, that "all men might be saved and come to the knowledge "of the truth.

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Nevertheless, we ought always to remember, that "the Apostle would have the text now under consid"eration, regarded as a mystery; so that the faithful "and thoroughly instructed should conceal its mean"ing among themselves, as a mystery of God, nor ob"trude it every where upon the imperfect and those "of less capacity. For says the scripture, it is good "to keep close the mystery of the king (Tobit. xii. 7.)." Such is his suggestion. It may be difficult

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x Comment. in Epist. ad Rom. Lib. viii. cap. 12. The other passage of this kind, is Contra Celsum Lib. v. cap. 15.

to reconcile it with the incontrovertible fact that he himself was in the habit of publishing this secret doctrine in his works, and of proclaiming it in his sermons. Of this species of inconsistency, however, there are remarkable instances, not only among the ancients, but also among the moderns; who sometimes declare the secret will of God, and maintain the doctrine of of universal decree, which they contend, the meanwhile, should be rather withheld than divulged.